Related

Although there are no statistics on the exclusion of the unemployed from the hiring process, such language is easy to find in online listings and is not specific to any industry, says Judy Conti, a lobbyist for the Washington-based National Employment Law Project (NELP).

"We've found 60 such listings in the last month for jobs ranging from restaurant manager to engineers," she said. "Older unemployed workers tell us they feel like they have been blacklisted."

Some companies, she adds, even use code words such as "vibrant work history" or "current skills" to signal their preferences to recruiters for young, employed, tech-savvy workers. "Must have small hands" could be code for an attractive young female candidate.

'Must be young or young at heart'

Requirements in a recent Careerbuilder listing for a $60,000 restaurant manager job at an unnamed casual-dining chain in Shreveport, La., include "must be currently employed in restaurants or recently unemployed (1-3 months)" as well as being "young or young at heart."

"Our searches are confidential because our clients don't want to be bombarded with résumés," says a recruiter at the Minneapolis-based firm that handled the listing and requested anonymity. "With the bad economy, employers can be more picky."

Indeed, employer bias against the unemployed may be worse than explicit job postings indicate, says John Sullivan, professor of management at San Francisco State University.

"Human resource departments are telling recruiters and staffing agencies not to waste their time sending applications from people out of work six months or longer," he says. "Recruiters are getting chastised for it, no matter how perfect the individual's qualifications for the job." Companies' primary concern, he adds, is that unemployed individuals' skills are out of date and retraining would cost money.

Companies bolder about bias

Employer bias toward hiring current workers is nothing new, says Phil Rosenberg, president of reCareered.com, a career coaching service.